Bouncing around on set with a beaming smile, it’s clear Jackie O is feeling like a different woman from the one who shocked fans by walking out on her popular KIIS FM breakfast radio show with Kyle Sandilands in November for health reasons.
“I’m glad I did that,” the 48-year-old tells Woman’s Day in between shots at our exclusive photoshoot in Sydney.
“I really needed it. It was hard to do because I don’t usually take time off and always push through. But that’s what I’d been doing – I’d been pushing through too much and I just couldn’t do it any more. I just needed a little bit of time off to recuperate and it’s been great.”
After reprioritising, Jackie admits she wouldn’t hesitate to quit her famous gig for good if she had to. “My health will always come first,” the star admits.
But, thankfully, Jackie doesn’t think it will ever get to that point.
Spicing up the types of exercise she does has helped Jackie when it comes to finding motivation.
(Image: Alana Landsberry)ROUTINE IS KEY
“I don’t see a reason why it would ever get to a stage where I wouldn’t be able to do the show, because that’s really important to me,” she insists.
“I love my job and that keeps me sane in a way. It’s good for me to have that routine and to go in and have fun every day and laugh the way that we do. It’s good for the soul.”
Speaking of routine, Jackie reveals she’s completely overhauled hers after also using her extended break from radio to get back on track with WW and drop an amazing 12 kilograms in the past three months! “It’s just been a total turnaround when it comes to eating and exercise,” says the presenter, who admits she “wasn’t looking after myself”.
All those early morning starts saw Jackie reaching for quick sugar and carb fixes to try to perk herself up.
“You get really tired and you have no energy. So the last thing you want to do is cook or exercise, but it’s a vicious cycle,” admits the Sydney-based star.
“I was eating a lot of food that I could get in a hurry. You know, pizza and sandwiches and just takeaway, I wasn’t cooking myself. And I think it’s always best when you know what you’re putting into your body. I just got really lazy…
I was taking the easy option. I’d stop into a service station, I’d pick up a sausage roll, or grab one of those microwave meals.”
Jackie, who says she loves to cook, is getting busy in the kitchen again.
“It’s just nice to get back to eating fresh food. I’ve never enjoyed salads before and I’ve learned to make some amazing salads,” says the star, who’s also changed how she exercises.
“I used to go to the gym and would just do 30, 40 minutes on the treadmill. I read something the other day, ‘You never really know how long a minute is until you are exercising,’ and it’s so true,” Jackie laughs. “So this time what I’ve done differently is I break it up and do different things every day. I’ve started tennis. I absolutely love that.
I’ve even started doing aqua aerobics now. I just do something every day, but it’s always something different so it doesn’t feel like a punish.”
‘I was eating a lot of food that I could get in a hurry.”
(Image: Alana Landsberry)And all her hard work was on show in the swimsuit snaps Jackie shared on social media of her new year trip to Fiji with daughter Kitty, 12.
“When I was younger, in my 20s and 30s, I used to be so hard on myself, and I never wanted to be seen in swimmers,” Jackie confesses when Woman’s Day compliments her on her pics.
“But now, it’s like, who cares? Just live your life. I feel a lot more confident than I ever have and I’m learning to love my body for what it does for me.”
Jackie says it’s especially important to embrace her body with the eyes of a tween watching her every move.
“I’m not gonna lie, I’ve had moments where I’ve said something in front of [Kitty] where I go, ‘Oh no, I feel big in this.’ She’s the one that will stop me and say, ‘Mum, what are you talking about? That’s beautiful.’ You want to be a really good role model for your kids and you don’t ever want them to see you analysing your own flaws because that’s not healthy and you would never want them to do that.”
Jackie says Kitty often steps in to be the sensible one on their mother-daughter shopping sprees, too.
Discussing her dating life, the radio host admits her daughter Kitty has “full approval” of her suitors.
(Image: Alana Landsberry)“It’s interesting because she tends to be the one that pulls back and says, ‘No, no, we’re not spending that money,'” she admits.
“She’s a good kid. But if you just give them everything they want, they’re never going to appreciate anything or work for anything. But, in saying that, we did go on a shopping spree in LA recently,” laughs Jackie.
Her little shopping partner will also have to sign off on the next man in her life.
“If she didn’t like him, then he’s not sticking around, that’s for sure,” Jackie, who split from former husband Lee Henderson in 2018, says of her future partner.
The star, who’s been single ever since, hints this could be the year she finally heads back into the dating world. “I was always afraid to be alone, and now I’m not afraid to be alone and it’s just nice to sit in that for a while and know that I’m OK with my own company and I’m in no rush,” she says.
“I always believe in fate. I always think if you’re meant to find someone, it will happen.”
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